American Sniper was a highly acclaimed biopic from 2014, but the fake baby scene has overshadowed the movie’s accolades in the years since its release. Directed by Clint Eastwood, American Sniper follows Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), a real-life former Navy SEAL sniper with a record number of confirmed kills during his service in Iraq. American Sniper received positive reviews, with critics praising Cooper’s portrayal of Kyle’s struggles with the moral dilemma he faced in the war and his attempt to settle down with his family. The film also grossed an impressive $547 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo).
As engaging as the movie is with how it pulls audiences into the emotionally engaging real-life American Sniper story, most of the talk surrounding the film is about a dramatic scene between Cooper and Sienna Miller. Unfortunately, the conversation isn’t about the powerful performances. The scene sees Chris and Taya Kyle (Miller) arguing while trying to comfort a crying baby, and that baby is obviously fake. The prop baby led to countless memes and overshadowed the American Sniper‘s success story. Nevertheless, American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall revealed the story behind the fake baby, and that the doll was plan C.
American Sniper Tried To Use Real Babies — But They Didn’t Work Out
Clint Eastwood Was Forced To Go With The Lesser Option
Following the onslaught of jokes ridiculing the fake baby in American Sniper, screenwriter Jason Hall set the matter straight by explaining that a real baby was hired, only for them to fall sick during production. However, there was still a plan B, as the production even had a backup baby (via Vulture). The writer commented:
“Hate to ruin the fun but real baby number one showed up with a fever. Real baby number two was a no show.“
Then, Hall claims director Clint Eastwood growled, “Gimme the doll, kid.” That led to the toy-like doll being used in a movie that had a budget of $58 million.
Working with children and babies comes with a number of production issues, such as limited working hours and lack of experience. That’s why movie and TV productions often cast twins for child characters, as that ultimately doubles the time the director has for the characters’ scenes. One notable example is Dylan and Cole Sprouse, who played Julian in Big Daddy, Ben Gellar in Friends, and a number of other notable ’90s child characters. When it comes to baby characters, the only other option is to use dolls, and as proved in American Sniper, that strategy has inconsistent results.
American Sniper’s Prop Baby Looks Really Bad (& Hurts The Movie)
Did The Fake Baby Cost American Sniper Its Best Picture Win?
Unfortunately, the prop baby in American Sniper drastically hurts the 2014 movie. Aside from the embarrᴀssing scene, the film is a harrowing and enthralling story and one of Clint Eastwood’s best movies thanks to a conflicted and layered real-life person at the center, but the prop baby is so distracting that it pulls audiences out of the otherwise immersive experience. The prop baby might not have been shown face-on, but the fake doll is still painfully evident from its side profile.
What makes it worse is Cooper’s handling of the doll, as the actor uncomfortably and clumsily holds the prop, making the entire scene feel totally awkward and not in keeping with the overall quality of the 2014 release. Fandango critic Dave Karger posited that the prop baby is the very reason the film wouldn’t win Best Picture (via The Telegraph). While American Sniper excelled at the box office, the prop baby is remembered more than the film’s narrative, and the scene might have even ruined the movie’s Oscar chances.
Other Movies That Used Fake Babies
Puppets And CGI Have Been Used In The Past
American Sniper might be the most notorious instance of a fake baby being used in a movie, but there have been plenty of other notable examples that come to mind. There are certain circumstances in which the use of a fake baby is necessary, such as in The Curious Case of Benjamin ʙuттon. The movie follows a character who ages in reverse, with him being introduced as an infant who is wrinkly and old. Clearly, a baby couldn’t be subjected to the makeup process for such a transformation, so a disturbing-looking puppet was used instead.
Another instance where a real baby simply could not have been used for the scene is in Trainspotting. The lead character, Renton, is going through heroin withdrawal and hallucinates the image of a baby crawling across the ceiling and turning its head completely around. The unnatural way the puppet baby crawls and the inhuman face are actually quite fitting for the nightmarish scene.
Of course, as time went on and CGI improved, some movies attempted to use the technology to help with their fake babies. However, in many cases, it only proved the limitations of CGI. Almost as notorious as American Sniper‘s fake baby was the CGI baby Renesmee in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Perhaps leaning too much into the supernatural elements of the baby, the animators created what looks like a cartoon character transplanted into this live-action movie.
